Touro University California has an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) program
with the installation of seven AED units at various locations throughout the campus.
This program is part of the overall effort to make TUC a safer place to learn, work
and visit. The intent is to provide a readily available tool to trained Volunteer
Rescuers in a medical situation involving sudden cardiac arrest and thus strengthen
the chain of survival.

An AED is a specialized medical device designed and used to recognize and treat certain
lethal heart rhythms, in conjunction with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during
a cardiac arrest situation. AEDs deliver an electrical shock to persons in ventricular
fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia. The AED's built-in computer evaluates the
patient's heart rhythm, recommends whether defibrillation is needed and then can be
used to administer a shock to assist in normalizing the heart rhythm. AEDs provide
auditory and visual prompts to assist Volunteer Rescuers in treating a cardiac arrest.
According to a study by the National Center for Early Defibrillation, survival rates
doubled in public locations with AEDs, as compared to those without them. Heart disease
is the leading cause of death in this country. Having access to, and knowing how to
use, an AED may help save a life.